Satisfaction and Greed
by StoryGirl.98
Summary: AU: Once-ler Castle was locked up, sealing the most hated young man in the kingdom inside. A teenage girl, Audrey, was accidentally locked up inside too. Once-ler discovers this, and he then has a small bit of hope. He was told that if he can get someone to fall in love with him, he might be able to fix everything. Once-ler x Audrey version of Beauty and the Beast. On Hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

Audrey stared up at the castle in front of her. She stood a few steps away from the door, her eyes taking in every bit of it. It was one thing to walk around here protesting of what the inhabitants were doing, but an entirely different thing to actually look at it. Examining every board of wood and worn out stone, she read the structure as one might read a book. Big, gloomy, and imposing, it was Once-ler Castle. Audrey knew the story behind it as well as anyone else.

There was a young man trying to get a new life of his own, but after things went right, things went _wrong_. He started harming the world around him just to make himself more important, and he ended up exhausting the very resources that brought him his fame. Everyone he had considered a friend left him behind, and absolutely no one had seen him since that had happened, around three years ago.

Audrey had been one of the more dedicated people who protested the thneed, that miraculous invention that could do almost anything. It wasn't that she didn't like thneeds, she'd just like them more if they didn't involve turning the beautiful kingdom of Green-ville into a smog filled, nature free wasteland. Stumps were everywhere, and most of the wildlife had to leave, simply because of the fact that there was nowhere fit for them to live. The air was so badly polluted that one man had actually been able to start selling air, and there was talk of crowning him the official king. The idea was silly to Audrey, making someone royalty just because they offered an amazing product, but Audrey knew the people of Green-ville had did it once before, and they'll probably do it again.

Breaking out of her gaze on the building, Audrey's eyes drifted to the massive double doors. She had always been curious about what was in the abandoned castle, but had never dared went there for fear of someone catching her where she shouldn't be. But she had overheard a conversation about how O'Hare, the air salesman, was planning on locking up this place, making it to where no one could get in. She wasn't quite sure why, but she would not let the only chance to see inside the castle slip away.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly walked forward, and quietly slipped into the castle, shutting the door behind her. To her surprise, the castle was well lit, mostly due to the numerous windows. She was in a large foyer, with several hall ways facing her and branching off in different directions, and a set of stairs leading to even more hallways. She took the one nearest to her.

There seemed to be an endless amount of rooms in the castle. Audrey explored numerous bedrooms, parlors, and dining halls, each extravagantly furnished, but all of them covered in a thin layer of dust. The rooms housed some of the most beautiful things Audrey had ever seen. She had been raised with a simple life, nothing like how it must have been living here.

She continued her wanderings, preferring to stay in the rooms that were well lit by the sunlight. She avoided the darker ones where the windows were boarded up, the dark had always scared her a little. Almost everything in the castle she saw was spectacular in some way, and it was a truly remarkable place. As she looked around, she wondered about the former master of this place. Despite being a protester, she had never seen him, only the cartoon versions of himself on billboards. She didn't even know his name. She knew it was probably Once-ler, indicated by his castle name, but she didn't know if that was his first or last name. Whenever she talked about him, she called him Greed-ler, just as the rest of the town did.

Just as Audrey was about to turn around and go home, she heard a very faint pounding. It was rhythmic, but faint. She walked back in the direction of the foyer, and as she grew closer she noticed it was the sound of pounding hammers. She broke into a sprint and tried to reach the doors, but she couldn't remember the exact way she came. She gotten herself lost several times before managing to get to the foyer. It was pitch black.

She stumbled through the darkness and ran her hand against the wall, trying to feel for the door. She found it, but when she pushed, then pulled, it wouldn't budge. After trying for several minutes, she gave up, and checked where she had seen a window earlier. Instead of feeling glass, she felt cool metal. Pushing on that did nothing either, and when she pounded on it, it was obvious from the noise that it was very thick.

Audrey turned and leaned against the wall, trying to stop tears from coming. The sunlight that was supposed to be filling the hallways she had just come down wasn't there, just the darkness. Audrey knew that if O'Hare wanted this place boarded up, he would cover every inch of it. The doors and windows were probably all sealed up, and even if she had any kind of told with her there was no way she'd make it through the thick stone walls.

Audrey sighed, and accepted a simple truth. She, for the time being, was stuck here.

* * *

**A/N:** This chapter wasn't much, just setting up the story and a quick review of what happened before the story. I've never wrote about Audrey before, hopefully I can keep her in character. Next chapter we should be seeing Once-ler, and things will start acting like an interesting story should. It's going to be a version of Beauty and the Beast, so it's obviously an AU. But it's not going to be exactly like BATB, I will have my own spin on it.

Reviews are appreciated!

-StoryGirl.98


	2. Chapter 2

Anger seemed to be radiating off of him. Three short years ago, he was on top of the world, praised, adored, loved. But as soon as he no longer had anything to offer the world he was cast aside. His family abandoned him, his friends were all fake, he had no one left.

At first he was depressed. Anyone would be in that situation. But then he thought that maybe it wasn't his fault. He started pinning the blame on everyone but him. It was so easy too. His family were the ones who convinced him to chop down the trees. His customers were the ones who kept on demanding thneeds. The media made him ignore his company and work on his fame. It was their fault, not his, at least the way he saw it. He absolutely refused to see his hand in all of this.

All he could see is how he did everything for them. Worked himself to his limits, and now people actually had the audacity to accuse him of being greedy! He wasn't, he told himself, he just had tastes for finer things than he currently had.

But since leaving his castle became aggravating due to the negative reactions from Green-ville, he preferred to stay inside the castle. He refused to leave, or allow anyone who came to enter. He no longer called himself Once-ler, he adapted to the name everyone else called him. Greed-ler.

He was in his office, sitting in his chair, simply thinking. He wasn't surprised when the small amount of light from the windows covered by curtains went out. He knew that this place would be boarded up eventually, regardless if he was in there or not. He didn't really mind, either. He wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon.

With a sigh he stood, and opened one of his desk drawers and pulled out a small box of matches. He lit one, it's faint glow illuminating the room. He pocked the box and exited his office in search for some candles. He liked the darkness, but he wasn't to fond of the idea of staying in it all the time.

As he walked down the halls, he tried to ignore the paintings and pictures of himself and his family on the walls. He made a mental note to take those down. They just served as reminders of his fallen kingdom.

He continued through the hallway, and down several sets of stairs until he arrived at the foyer.  
There was a sight that made him freeze.

* * *

Audrey leaned against the wall. She was trapped, here in Greed-ler's castle. Not quite the best situation to be in. She was slightly terrified, for two main reasons.

The first was that she was most likely going to be here for a very long time. That metal was thick, and even if she worked at it every second she had, it would take months to make a decent dent in it, and even longer to make a hole big enough for her to escape through.

The second was Greed-ler himself. She didn't know if he was still in the castle. If he was, she didn't know how he would react upon finding her. If he wasn't, then she would have to find some way to deal with solitude. Either way, she would try her best to avoid his notice for a while, just until she got her bearings and assessed the situation.

But first, she would have to find some way out of the darkness. Audrey ran her sleeve over her face, getting rid of any leftover tears. She held out both hands in front of her, and took a few steps and then paused. She had no idea where to go or where she could find candles or matches or anything that could help. She could barely see. She let her arms fall to her sides and puzzled over that for a moment, before she noticed something.

The room was gradually becoming lighter, and the light seemed to be coming from one of the upstairs hallways. Audrey panicked. She tried to look around for someplace to hide as the room became brighter, the arrival of the light now accompanied with footsteps hitting the stone floor.

She continued to look around the room, and was about to make a run for it, when her eyes fell on the person standing on the bottom step of the staircase, who was staring right at her. Greed-ler.

_Oh, crap._

* * *

**A/N: **Aaaaannnnnddddd, cliffhanger! Sorta. Do not fear, I shall update soon, and then they shall meet!

Anyways, I made me a Angsty-Oncie playlist just to listen to while I wrote this chapter. It only had three songs, How Bad Can I Be?, Biggering, and Viva la Vida. The reason behind the first two are obvious, and the third one just fits him.

So, for this Once-ler, well, Greed-ler, as he is called in this story, I tried to not make him depressed like in the movie, but instead angry, to sorta fit him as the beast in this story. Take normal Oncie, pack him full of greed, hurt, angst, rage and family issues, and there ya go, have a Greed-ler!

Oh, almost forgot, but thanks to my three reviewers and three followers! You guys are awesome!

-StoryGirl.98


	3. Chapter 3

Greed-ler's mouth hung open. There was someone in his castle. She entered without his permission and without his knowledge. Realizing that, he shut his mouth and put on a scowl, and looked at the girl.

She seemed to be in her late teens, probably just a few years younger than him. She had long orange hair, and green eyes. She was currently staring back at him, and she looked like a deer in the headlights.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Greed-ler growled.

The girl jumped, as if snapping back to reality.  
"Uh..." she said in a nervous tone.  
"Let's start with an easy question, then. Name, or do you even know that?"

"Audrey. Audrey T-"  
"I don't need your last name. Now, what are you doing here?"  
"Um, I was just looking around and-"  
Greed-ler got off the stairs and took a step forward, and Audrey took a step back.

"Do you normally break into peoples homes and snoop around without their permission?" Greed-ler said.  
"No. I just wanted to look around. I thought nobody lived here, and I always wondered about this place." Audrey snapped back.

"Don't care. Get out." Greed-ler said.

"Well, I sorta can't." Audrey returned back to being nervous. "When they boarded up this place, they did a pretty sound job of it, and I can't find a way to leave..."

Greed-ler thought over this for a moment. He then turned to leave. Her problems, not his, and he couldn't do anything about it.

"H-hey! You can't just leave me here! What am I supposed to do?" Audrey said,

Without turning around, Greed-ler pointed to a small cabinet a few feet away.

"Some matches are in there. Simple bedrooms are down the first hall on the right, the more nicer ones are down the second hall. I assume you'll find the kitchen on your own, because I don't know where it is."

He turned back to face her.  
"You can stay here, _temporarily_," he said, emphasizing the last word, "But you are not allowed upstairs, and just stay out of my way."

Audrey folded her arms over her chest and returned his glare.

"Fine. Just until I find some way to leave."

* * *

Audrey walked up to the cabinet and managed to grab a small box of matches just as Greed-ler went down one of the upstairs hallways, taking the light from his match with him. She quickly lit one, and she found a few candles in the cabinet, along with a few odds and ends. She took two of the candles, lit one, and put the other in her pocket with the matches.

She decided it would be best to find a room to stay in, and then look around the castle a little more. Audrey walked down the second hallway first, taking a quick look into each room. All of them were wonderful, but they weren't exactly comfortable to her. She then looked around the first hallway, where the rooms were simpler, and much more like home.

She soon found a room to her liking, one that was similar to her one back home. She went and laid on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Her thoughts soon turned to Greed-ler.

He was different than she expected. He was very tall, had black hair and blue eyes, and appeared to be around her age. He looked handsome, but his personality could use some work.

But she wouldn't think about that now. Now, all she wanted was some sleep.

* * *

Greed-ler decided to go get some rest. He had found some candles in one of the upstairs rooms, and as he headed to his room he thought over the situation. He was no longer alone in the castle, and he didn't really mind as long as she wasn't too noisy and stayed out of his way. He didn't liked to be bothered, and he preferred solitude rather than someone spending time with him simply because they were both stuck in the same place.

He entered his bed room and pulled off his green coat, and was about to change into his pajamas when a bright light flashed in the room. He quickly ducked to the ground, but the light left as fast as it came.  
Greed-ler stood, and looked around, to see his nightstand wobbling back and forth slightly. He slowly walked over to it, and he pulled the drawer open. Inside was scorch marks, and a stone.

He had found the stone shortly after the fall of the thneed market, sitting alone right outside his door. It was around the size of a small book, and had the word 'Unless' carved into it. To anyone else it might have been a strange thing that would of taken a while to figure out, but Greed-ler had understood it perfectly, due to a conversation he had with a certain someone a few days prior to the stones appearance.

Greed-ler carefully picked up the stone, surprised to find it slightly warm. It didn't look any different from the front, it was the same Unless staring up at him. He flipped it over and looked at the back.

There, in slightly glowing words, was a short and simple message.

_Did you forget the deal, Beanpole?_

* * *

**A/N: **Whoa! Six reviews and three follows and two faves since the last chapter? You guys are awesome! I'll try to have the next chapter up soon!

StoryGirl.98


	4. Chapter 4

"_I... I did this..."_

_He whispered under his breath as if he was afraid to break the silence that hung over the lifeless valley. Somehow, with meaning to, he had ruined everything. His family had left, his friends had left, everyone was gone._

"_So you finally realized," a family voice said behind him._

_He spun around to see his old friend, the legendary Lorax. The Lorax wasn't wearing a face of anger like when he normally came, mostly to try and talk him out chopping down the trees. Instead he was showing pure sadness. Not just for the forest, but for the young man standing before him as well._

"_I didn't mean too, I just wanted people to be happy, and it-" he said in a rush, and he wasn't sure if he was trying to convince the Lorax or himself. The Lorax simply shook his head._

"_You don't have to explain. I know exactly what happened."_

_Once-ler let out a sigh, and turned back to the valley. _

_He remember the way it was when he first came. Bright, sunshiny, beautiful. Full of life, with the various animals and plants, and it seemed just a step or two away from Heaven, it was so perfect.  
And he hated himself for coming along a ruining it all._

"_Is there anything I can do to fix it?"_

"_I'll take care of it. Just go home, back to your family."  
"No."  
"Why not?"  
"I don't have a family. I have no one that cares. I could drop dead this very moment, and absolutely no one would even pause a moment, they'd just carry on like nothing even happened. I don't matter!" He started to let the anger build up in him, "And this is my mess, I don't need you to fix it! If I can't, no one will!"_

_He had turned back to the Lorax, who just continued to watch him patiently._

"_Look, beanpole-"  
"Don't call me that!"  
"Fine. Once-ler," the Lorax paused a moment, hating how it felt, it was strange not using the nickname. But he continued, nonetheless._

"_I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees. It has always been my responsibility to watch over this place, along with many others. This isn't the first time this place has fallen, and it probably won't be the last. It is my duty to take care of the places when this happens. I have to take care of it, I cannot let you do it without breaking some serious rules, along with some personal rules. I'm sorry, but that's the way it works."_

_The Lorax noticed Once-ler's defeated and angered expression, so unlike the determined one he had arrived in this valley with._

"_But, I can make one exception, under one circumstance."_

_He looked back at the Lorax, a more desperate face was never seen before._

"_What do I have to do?"_

"_You said you had no one. Get one person, anybody, to care about you. If you can, without using tricks or force, get one person to love you, then, and only then, can you fix everything. Deal?"  
He thought over this for a moment, before reverting back to his angered state._

"_B-but that's impossible! Can't you see what I've become? I'm the most hated man in the kingdom, no one can love me!"_

_The Lorax looked up at him, square in the eye._

"_Unless."_

_With that, the Lorax turned and left, walking slowly into the smog, until he lifted himself up through the clouds, without one glance behind._

_Once-ler's mind was reeling. Unless? A very vague answer to an impossible task, and all of this had too be put on his shoulders. Was this some type of punishment, given an opportunity to fix everything, but it being imposable, and therefore it forever weighing on his conscience?_

_And the Unless, what was that supposed to mean? It could be anything, but maybe that's what the Lorax meant for it to mean. Anything that he saw fit._

_After watching the Lorax disappear, he simply turned around and entered his castle, determined to never go out. Several days later, there was a knock at his door. He opened it, surprised at his find._

_A simple stone, and a simple word._

* * *

Greed-ler sat up straight in his bed, after being jolted awake. He took several deep breaths and wiped some sweat off his forehead. If someone saw the sight, they might assume he had woken from a nightmare, but it was just a dream, that's all it was, or so he tried to convince himself.

But he knew that the dream he had wasn't just a simple dream, it was a _memory_. One that he always tried to block out, and he was forced to relive every second of it.

He knew it had something to do with the glowing stone last night, and that dream was probably put there by the Lorax himself.

Greed-ler finally calmed himself down, and he laid back down, and stared into the darkness.

He knew fully well why the Lorax sent that dream. It was all because of the arrival of that girl, Audrey. Of course the Lorax would try to make him do his part of the deal he hadn't agreed too. It was all nonsense, Audrey probably hated him just like everyone else.

But still, he had this one unshakeable feeling. That maybe he might be able to do his part, and that he might be able to make friends with her, and that might turn out to be something more, and things might just turn out okay.

He decided he would think it over more tomorrow, and he soon fell back asleep.

* * *

**A/N: **Yes, this chapter did come fast, and I am proud of that. I am also proud to state this is becoming one of my favorite stories to work on. Expect the next chapter soon!  
StoryGirl.98


	5. Chapter 5

Audrey smiled to herself as she _finally_ found the kitchen. It had took long enough, really this castle had much more rooms than needed. She wasn't sure how much food they would have in here, with Greed-ler not leaving the castle for a few years to get anything.

She looked through the cabinets, mostly finding non-perishable items and marshmallows. Lots and lots of marshmallows.

Audrey continued to look around the kitchen for a few hours, just to kill some time. Normally her days were busy, with friends, school, and other things. Now for the foreseeable future she had nothing to occupy her time with.  
She jumped at the sound of one of the side doors being opened, but calmed down when she saw it was just Greed-ler. Though something still seemed off about him, he wasn't really as bad as she used to think he was.  
He walked across the kitchen, heading for one of the larger cabinets.  
"So you've found the kitchen."  
"I thought you said you didn't know where it was."  
Greed-ler opened the cabinet and pulled out a bag of marshmallows. He turned around and walked back towards the exit.  
"I lied."  
"Why?"  
Audrey was having none of his standoffish behavior. She was determined to have some sort of conversation.  
"Cause I did."  
With that, he exited and shut the door. Audrey thought momentarily about following him, but decided against it. If he didn't want to talk, neither did she.

Greed-ler was just a bit angry with himself for losing that opportunity. He had decided that it would be best to just learn a bit about Audrey before trying to be friends, or more than friends. He wasn't going to start doing something crazy like being nice to her and then find out that she's exactly the kind of person he detests.

He entered his office and placed the marshmallows in a drawer, after taking a handful out. He noticed the Unless was glowing again.

He had to put it in his office last night, because instead of returning back to normal after he read the message, it started to glow. The more he tried to ignore it and the more stuff he covered it up with the more it glowed. The Lorax was a very persistent creature.

Now it was around as bright as a lamp, so Greed-ler blew out his candle and set the Unless on his desk. He glared at if for a full half hour.

"I know you can hear me," he said to the bright stone, ignoring how strange he must of looked.

"You can hear everything I'm saying, can't you, furry meatloaf?"

In response the stone glowed just a tiny bit brighter.

"Can you please knock that off? It's messing with my sleep at night!"

Two words appeared on the stone, standing out because they didn't glow.

_The deal._

"That? Come on! I just met that girl and I know nothing about her, and suddenly you want me to fall in love with her? That's not fair!" Greed-ler whined.

The words disappeared and the stone began to glow even brighter, to the point where Greed-ler had to put his sunglasses on.

Greed-ler took the stone and shoved it in an empty drawer, the stone's light still glowing through the cracks, almost as if taunting him.

"Oh, it's on now."

* * *

Audrey flopped down on her bed, thoroughly bored.

She had spent several hours wandering around, just looking through things and rooms, trying to find something of interest. All she had really found was bedrooms and the occasional dining room or parlor, and she had even managed to find a room with a dart board and pool table, but those things were only so much fun when playing them alone. She concluded that all interesting rooms must be upstairs, and Greed-ler was probably hogging them all to himself.

She just wished for something. A pen and some paper, a book, some knitting needles, just something to occupy her time.

Then there was a knock at her door.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for the wait! This chapter did not want to be written at all, and I'm still not quite satisfied with it. I also apologize for it's shortness.

But as a piece offering, I give you the mental image of fancy professional Once-ler yelling at a glowing rock while the Lorax is probably watching and laughing his rear off.

And thanks for the reviews/follows/favorites! That stuff just makes my day!

StoryGirl.98


	6. Chapter 6

Greed-ler's annoyance was on his face as he walked down the hall, silently fuming over what he was being forced to do. The Lorax was indirectly forcing him to make a friend, and, by extension, be nice to someone. He hadn't did that in a long time. But maybe if he made the effort, the Unless would at least stop freaking out, and maybe things would return to normal.

Greed-ler wasn't even sure why he was doing this. Things were fine for him, and he didn't mind being locked up in his castle, it wasn't like he ever planned on leaving anyways. As for returning nature, Green-ville could take care of that itself if it cared so much. But it didn't, and no one there really did. Every now and then there was some young person who was just a bit curious about nature, but they always quickly forgot about it. Green-ville was perfectly fine in their plastic haven, whats the point in him changing that?

But despite the strong arguments he put up against it, he found himself walking down the hallway, searching for the room Audrey was in, and one part of him, the part that still remembered his name was Once-ler, not Greed-ler, was optimistic about the whole thing. Sure, he would be forced to make a friend, but then again, he would be _making a friend._

He quickly figured out that Audrey must be in one of the rooms in the first hallway, the simpler ones. She seemed like a girl who would be comfortable in simplicity.

He knocked at the door of each one, always waiting a few moments before moving on. That was the first time he realized how many rooms they were. Another thing he noticed was that almost all the doors were green. Now that he thought about it, a majority of things in the castle were green. Greed-ler wasn't even sure when green became his favorite color. Last time he had really thought about it, his favorite color was gray.

He continued to think about green and gray as he knocked on the doors, going down the hall that seemed to just not end. He was thinking about giving up and retreating to his office when he knocked on a door and he heard shuffling from inside the room, then footsteps.

Despite his confidence, Greed-ler began to panic. He seemed to suddenly realize just what he was doing when the door opened and Audrey looked at him, surprised.

"Uh..." Greed-ler said awkwardly. Apparently his brain had decided now would be the best time to stop working.

"Can I help you with anything?" Audrey said, speaking equally as awkwardly as Greed-ler was.

"I was just wondering, that maybe, do you possibly, uh, do you want to hang out?"

"What?" That was the last thing that Audrey expected him to say.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, I'm just saying, that I'm kinda bored, and I thought that you might be too, and if you want to do anything, then-"

"I'd love too," Audrey said, interrupting his rambling.

* * *

The Lorax smiled.

Not just a small smile, a full blown grin. Beanpole was actually doing it.

He half expected him to forget about the deal, or just ignore it compleatly when he got his chance. But he was actually going for it and that made the Lorax smile for hours.

The forest might actualy be fixed, and the animals might get to go home, and things might just be okay again. The trees would grow, and then maybe the grass and flowers would follow. As for the rivers and smog, the Lorax would take care of that. (He didn't want to put everything on Beanpole's sholders.)

Everything would be fine.

Assuming Redhead fell in love too.

That was the one variable. There was a _slight _possibility that Beanpole and Redhead's personalities might not be as compatable as he thought. The plan he had cooked up might fail misrably if that happened.

But the Lorax didn't bother with those thougts. He had, as Beanpole might call it, an irrational sense of optimism.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry for another shortish chapter. That just was the best part to end this chap, and I couldn't think of what else to write for this. But next chapter will finally have 'Beanpole' and 'Redhead' interacting with each other.

As for the Lorax, I just wanted to do something from his pov. As for the nicknames, I think he's the kind of person to give an obvious nickname to everyone, and that's the only thing he'll call them. He never called the Once-ler anything but Beanpole in the movie.

The next chapter will be out soon!

StoryGirl.98


	7. Chapter 7

Awkward.

That was how both Audrey and Greed-ler would describe how they were feeling. They didn't exactly get off on the right foot at first, which was something both wanted to fix desperately, since they were going to be living in the same place for a while, but it was still awkward nonetheless.

They tried to keep up a conversation as they walked back down the hall, although it was a bit challenging.

"So," Audrey began, "What do you want to do?"

"To be honest, I didn't really plan this far ahead," Greed-ler said, with a nervous laugh.

"What did you used to do around here?"

"Work on thneed designs, make company decisions, work on improving Green-ville, other things like that."

"I mean what did you do around here for fun?"

Greed-ler stopped walking and thought for a moment.

"I never really had time for fun."

"Seriously?" Audrey said.

Greed-ler shrugged and started walking again.

"I was really busy. Running a business as large as mine was is hard work. And any spare time I did have I tried to think of ways to bigger my company. In retrospect, I should have been planting tree's."

Audrey noticed that he said the last part bitterly, so she decided to hold back some sharp comments she would have loved to make and ignored it. They walked in silence until they reached the foyer, when Greed-ler suddenly spoke up.

"Do you like pancakes?"

"Uh, yeah. Who doesn't?" Audrey answered, "Why?"

"I make really good pancakes, or so I've been told. It's been ages since I had them, maybe we could go make some?"

"Why not?"

Greed-ler smiled, and they headed towards the kitchen. Audrey realized that was the first time she ever saw him smile. She silently thought to herself that he looked kinda handsome when he did that.

They soon arrived at the kitchen, and Greed-ler started heating up the stove and pulling out a few pans, while Audrey walked over to the cabinets and started to get the ingredients.

"Hey, I was wondering something," she said as she set a container of flower on the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"What?"

"How come all of this stuff isn't expired? You were here for few years, right? So shouldn't at least things like this," she held up a carton of milk, "be expired?"

Greed-let thought over how to answer that without revealing too much, and without it being too far fetched. He eventually decided just to tell her the whole thing, she deserved to know.

"Have you ever heard of the Lorax?"

"I think so. Isn't he that mythical guardian of the woods or something?"

"Guardian of the Forest, actually. Well, he's sorta real."

He grabbed a bowl from a tall cabinet, and started to crack a few eggs.

"Really? I always thought he was just some made up story."

"He's not just a story, I found that out personally."

"Do you know him?"

"Sorta. Long story short, he came when I started chopping tree's down, and after, well, you know, he wasn't that pleased." Greed-ler began speaking rapidly, "He sorta cursed me, and-"

"Whoa, backup. Cursed?" Audrey asked skeptically. Mythological creatures being real, maybe, but being cursed too? Just a little over the top.

Greed-ler just nodded.

"How did he curse you?" she said, deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"First off, I can't leave Green-ville, or go too far from the castle for that matter. And somehow, he fixed it to where I can never forget what I did, like it's almost always on the top of my mind."

Audrey passed him the bowl of pancake batter they created, and Greed-ler went to the stove, and poured a few pancakes out to cook.

"But there are some good parts to the curse too. To answer your question, the food never expires, and it never runs out. Also, stuff never seems dirty here, except for a little dust here and there."

"Nothing get's dirty at all?"

Greed-ler pointed to her dress, and Audrey noticed how it didn't look as if she had worn it for a few days. It looked, felt, and smelled clean, as if it had been washed just a few hours ago.

"That's just cool. What I wouldn't give to have this cure placed on my house. Except for the remembering part. That must suck."

Greed-ler nodded, and flipped over a pancake.

"Is there anyway you can get rid of the curse?"

Greed-ler cleared his throat nervously. This part of the deal he most definitely didn't want to tell her.

"Uh, there is one way that I'll be able to fix everything," he saw Audrey about to ask another question, and he held his hand up, "But don't ask. I'm still in the process of figuring it out myself."

* * *

**A/N: **Update! Complete with pancakes, and awkward explanations of curses. Not too much going on, but I hope it was okay.

And I'm just gonna say thanks to anyone who reviews/alerted/favorited. You guys are all epic!


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